Product Details

Create a solid, binding lease that complies with your state laws

If you rent out residential real estate, you need documents that are legally valid where you live—and every state’s rules are different when it comes to landlord-tenant law. Typical stationery store leases simply won’t do the job. This book contains the key legal forms you need in your state, including:

fixed-term lease

month-to-month rental agreement

rental application

tenant reference and credit check forms

move-in and move-out letters

property inspection checklist

The 12th edition is completely updated to reflect the latest state landlord-tenant laws and issues such as restricting tenant sublets through short-term rental services. You’ll find the key state‑specific rules you must include in your residential leases and rental agreements, including clauses covering security deposits, entry to rental property, late rent fees, termination notice requirements, and disclosures.

"Nolo is a pioneer in both consumer and business self-help books and software.” -Los Angeles Times

"On my scale of one to 10, this excellent book rates a solid 10." -Robert Bruss, real estate attorney and nationally syndicated columnist

Ralph "Jake" Warner, a pioneer of the do-it-yourself law movement, founded Nolo with Ed Sherman in 1971. Nolo began publishing do-it-yourself law books written by Jake and his colleagues after numerous publishers rejected them. When personal computers came along, he added software to many Nolo books. When the Internet arrived, he championed the move online, where Nolo published huge amounts of free legal information.

4. Changing or Ending a Tenancy

Sample Chapter

Your Lease and Rental Documents Companion

The rental agreement or lease that you and your tenant sign forms the contractual basis of your relationship. Taken together with the laws of your state—and, in a few areas, local and federal laws—it sets out almost all the legal and practical rules you and your tenant must follow—such as how many people can occupy your property and for how long, the amount of the rent and deposit, and you (and your tenant’s) repair and maintenance responsibilities.

We’ll take you step by step through preparing a lease or rental agreement, plus key forms that supplement them, including a rental application designed to help you choose the best tenants (and weed out the bad ones) and a landlord-tenant checklist to document the condition of the rental unit at the beginning and end of the tenancy (and avoid disputes over security deposits).

Fortunately, you don’t need a lawyer to draft these important rental documents—just this book. Here’s how we can help you.

State-specific legal information. We’ll show you how to easily create an effective and legal rental agreement or lease that you can tailor to fit your situation using the 50-state law charts in Appendix A. Want to know about security deposit rules in your state? The “State Security Deposit Rules” chart has what you need, including the deposit limit, whether you need to keep the deposit in a separate account or pay interest on it, when you must return the deposit, and whether you’re exempt from the rules based on the size of your business.

Where to find forms in this book. You’ll find copies of the lease and rental agreement, rental application, and other forms in this book available for download on the Nolo website on a special companion page for this book (described below).

Both the print copy and eBook versions include blank versions of the forms (found in Appendix C), which you can either tear out or print, as well as filled-in samples in the text.

Caution

Who shouldn’t use our lease or rental agreement? Don’t use the forms in this book if you’re renting out property that is subsidized by the government; mobile homes; hotels; or commercial property. Landlords who accept Section 8 vouchers will need to use the HUD addendum, which will add to the terms and conditions of the lease you draft using this product (the HUD terms will prevail in case of any inconsistencies). If you are renting out your condominium or townhouse, use this book in conjunction with your homeowners’ association CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions).

FORMS

This Book Comes With a Website

Nolo’s award-winning website has a page dedicated just to this book, where you can:

DOWNLOAD FORMS - All forms in this book are accessible online. After purchase, you can find a link to the URL in Appendix B.

KEEP UP TO DATE - When there are important changes to the information in this book, we will post updates

And that’s not all. Nolo.com contains thousands of articles on everyday legal and business issues, plus a plain-English law dictionary, all written by Nolo experts and available for free. You’ll also find more useful books, software, online services, and downloadable forms.

Customer Reviews

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Review by NAZEM R.

It is a very useful program. I recommend it. (Posted on 2/20/2019)

Ultimately Happy! by Max B.

Your Leases and Rental Agreements book was of no value to me but your NOLO site;
https://www.nolo.com/companion/leases-and-rental-agreements-LEAR.html - did the trick.
I was more than pleased by my conversations with the 2 of your employees with whom I spoke.
Thanks for your fine service.

(Posted on 11/19/2018)

Good legal reference for experienced landlords by Nancy L.

I have been a landlord of multifamily properties for several years. I bought this book to update legal language on my rental forms and hear the latest practical information for interacting with tenants, since I manage the properties directly. Great reference value for the money. (Posted on 12/27/2017)

Review by Anonymous

I appreciate the forms and guidelines. I wish there was more discussion on what to do when you have several qualified candidates. (Posted on 8/11/2017)

Very good! by Anonymous

This product is very convenient and easy to use. It is definitely worth the cost. (Posted on 8/11/2017)

Review by Anonymous

Very pleased with this product (Posted on 8/11/2017)

Review by Anonymous

Has everything you need for an airtight lease (Posted on 8/11/2017)

Great Agreement by Anonymous

Easy to use and says what you want it to say in clear understood verberage. (Posted on 8/11/2017)